Here’s an odd subject for discussion, but one which some magician will find useful.
I’m not one who generally makes endorsements but I highly recommend the services at Big O Tires.
Here’s my story: Several years ago, before I became a full-time professional magician, I trusted my car (and my tires) to a small local mechanic in Boulder. When it came time to get new tires, he saved me some money by replacing my tires with a no-name brand of tires. He assured me that the quality was as good or better than the big-name brands — and he was right. The tires were great and I saved a little money.
Some time passed and I moved from Boulder to Denver. And then one evening, while driving home during a snow storm, I had a flat. Because the snow affected how the car handled, I don’t know how long I had been driving on the flat.
I took the car to my new mechanic to see if he could fix the tire, but as expected, the tire was a lost cause. The real shock came when I was told that my new mechanic didn’t carry the no-name brand of tires. And my dismay was compounded when I called several other shops, only to discover that no one carried the brand of tire I was driving on.
I would either have to take my car up to Boulder (to the mechanic who originally sold me the no-name brand of tires), or I would have to replace all four tires.
Even though a trip to Boulder would have saved me a good deal of money (albeit at great inconvenience), I decided I wanted new tires and I went to Big O Tires to get them.
Here in Colorado, we have a lot of Big O Tires around the state. Currently I live about 1.5 miles from a Big O (I now live in Lafayette — a relatively small town). And there are probably 60 locations along the Front Range.
They’re open 6 days a week (closed only on Sundays) and they open at 7:30AM which means that I can get service on Saturdays and early mornings if I need to.
(If anyone knows of a tire store in Colorado with more locations and better hours of operation, I’d love to hear from you.)
Plus, if you buy your tires from Big O, they’ll fix your flats for free.
As I mentioned above, I chose Big O Tires, before I became a professional magician, but now that I rely on my car for my livelihood, I’m even more pleased with the decision.
One Friday (September 19th to be exact), I went out to the theatre, and when I returned to my car, my tire was flat. I was booked for two performances the next day (one at 12:00PM and one at 5:30PM) so early Saturday morning, I stopped by my Big O Tires, and had my tire fixed in less than 30 minutes (I had rolled over a nail).
No hassle. No cost. No worries.
As a performer, I depend on my car to get me to my gigs on-time and ready to perform, so I think Big O Tires is great. If you’re not doing magic as your full-time profession, this post may seem a bit lame (and my apologies to anyone who doesn’t have Big O Tires where they live and work). But I hope that someone out there can use my recommendation, because someday it could save your butt.
